After Hermes delivered his message and immediately slipped away…
"Teacher, I want to learn forging from you! Teacher, I absolutely must learn forging from you! I won't leave! Teacher Hephaestus, I don't want to leave you! I really don't!"
Hephaestus looked at Jason clinging to her arm with teary eyes and could not help being amused.
"What is wrong?" Hephaestus gently stroked Jason's head and said softly, "Aren't you on rather good terms with Apollo?"
As she spoke, she pointed at the sword still hanging from his waist, the one Apollo had lent him and never asked to be returned.
"This… this…"
Jason was momentarily speechless.
Could he really say they were not on good terms?
If Apollo heard that later, it would definitely mean trouble.
But the problem was that going straight to meet Apollo was also trouble…
Apollo really did have male favorites in the myths!
"Enough. I don't know what you're so afraid of." Hephaestus said with a laugh before continuing, "Since Hermes came looking for you now, there is probably Zeus's and Athena's will behind it… You should set off soon."
"Teacher Hephaestus, I can't bear to leave you." Jason said tearfully, even trying to squeeze out a few tears to gain sympathy.
"I can't bear to let you go either, but… if I don't let you leave soon, they will probably come straight to my door."
Hephaestus sighed, pinched Jason's cheek, and said, "Who made you so good at attracting attention?"
"I didn't…"
Jason looked utterly wronged.
He truly had not!
If anything, the only god he had actively provoked was Hecate!
Everything else had been passive. It really was not his fault.
"Then before you leave, is there anything you want?"
Hephaestus smiled as she ruffled Jason's hair. "If you really think you'll be lonely, I noticed you got along quite well with a few of the automatons…"
"No, that's all right." Jason answered instantly, thought for a moment, then said gloomily, "Then, Teacher Hephaestus, could you give me a shield?"
Jason had realized that although he had accumulated several decent weapons by now, he strangely lacked a single shield to protect himself.
"A shield?… I'm afraid your teacher cannot give you a shield."
To Jason's surprise, Hephaestus actually shook her head.
Under Jason's astonished gaze, she added, "Because someone once instructed me that I may give you anything you ask for, except a shield… She is waiting for you to go to her yourself.
As for who that person is… little Jason, you're so clever, you've probably already guessed."
With that, Hephaestus winked at Jason.
And indeed, Jason had guessed.
Because Hephaestus had repeatedly made it clear that during this period, only two gods had come to see her.
One was Hermes, messenger of the gods.
The other was naturally Athena, Goddess of Wisdom…
Damn it! You stole my lyre, caused all this huge trouble, and now you want me to offer you another tribute for a shield?!
Thus, upon learning that Athena had already reserved the gift of a shield for him, this was the genuine thought that instantly flashed through Jason's mind.
Although Jason had said earlier that he was not sure whether to blame Athena for the current situation, the problem was that he could not possibly have no resentment…
After all, at the root of it, this whole mess was Athena's doing!
That very afternoon, when Jason rode away on the heavenly horse, the only things he received from Hephaestus were silver reins and horseshoes.
When he fitted them onto the heavenly horse, Jason had actually been worried Brother Horse would be angry, but to his surprise the horse quite liked them.
And as he prepared to depart, he looked at Hephaestus sitting alone in her wheelchair at the temple entrance, seeing him off by herself.
"I'm sorry, Teacher. I have to go now…"
"Yes." Hephaestus said softly, "When you return next time… we will begin learning forging together."
"Yes." Jason nodded earnestly. "Teacher, when I come back next time, I will study forging properly with you.
And then I will offer you the very best tribute I can!"
With those words, the pure white heavenly horse carried Jason away.
Hephaestus remained seated, staring blankly at Jason's departing back. Only after a long while did she say calmly, "I thought you two would come out."
The moment her words fell, from the shadows of the trees beside the temple, Hecate in a long black dress and Athena in a pure white embroidered gown stepped out together.
Thus Hephaestus's amber eyes met Hecate's crimson ones.
Athena stood to the side, blinking her golden eyes, watching the meeting between the two with great interest.
In short, eating melon.
A historic meeting between two teachers!
It was a pity the true protagonist was not present.
Even Athena now felt a slight regret that Jason had left first.
"…It seems you truly care for that child."
After a brief silence between Hephaestus and Hecate, Hephaestus spoke softly to Hecate. "Only one day has passed, and you're already here.
And if I'm not mistaken, the flute Hermes carried was not taken by Apollo on the way… because he lied just now.
You were the one who had Hermes give it to Apollo, weren't you?"
"Yes, that's right." Hecate admitted openly, even smiling faintly. "And this is a teacher's love."
"…Then what business do you have with me?"
After a brief silence, Hephaestus asked with slight curiosity.
She felt no anger from Hecate, and Hecate had deliberately waited until Jason left before appearing. Clearly she had not come to start trouble.
"What else could it be? Of course it concerns that cursed disciple of mine." Hecate sighed and said to Hephaestus, "Because if Hera will directly influence that child's future choices,
then Hephaestus… as the God of Craftsmanship who once forged a weapon capable of binding even Queen Hera herself,
you could very well single-handedly forge the path of no return Jason will walk!"
Athena listened from the side and blinked, looking at Hecate.
After saying this, Hecate turned to her.
"Thank you for guiding me here, Athena. Now… could you let Hephaestus and me speak privately?"
With that, Hecate shooed Athena away, pushed the puzzled Hephaestus's wheelchair, and entered the temple.
"…What is going on?"
Outside the door, Athena frowned and muttered in confusion, "Is there some secret about Jason that I still don't know?… And why did Hecate only tell me half of it… No, she's reminding me?"
"She's reminding me to find a way to reconcile Jason and Hera?… Why? Could she have seen a future where Hera kills Jason?"
"No, path of no return… what path of no return?"
Even Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, felt momentarily puzzled by Hecate's intentions.
Because not even she had ever imagined that one day a mortal boy would raise his sword and point it at the gods of Olympus!
After all, for a very long time such a future had been questioned even by Hecate herself as absurd!
Yet now… in less than a month since Jason had left the mountain, Hecate was seeing more and more shadows of that future.
The arrow of Moon Goddess Artemis, the magic flute Hermes intended to give, the shield Athena planned to bestow, and now Teacher Hephaestus…
Note that this was the result of Jason being away from the mountain for less than a month!
Do you all realize what kind of existence you are forging with your own hands…
Sometimes Hecate really wanted to ask the gods this, but naturally she never would.
Because as Jason himself had said, even if the world were destroyed, Hecate probably would not bother to look twice.
The reason Hecate was being so unusually active and appearing repeatedly now was certainly not for the sake of the Olympian gods… Who told her to have accepted a cursed disciple?
Ever since that year when Hera had Hermes deliver an oracle to Jason, forcing him to choose between her and Hecate,
Hecate… had already lost.
That was why she kept appearing now to interfere in Jason's affairs.
And clearly, what she wished to bring about was neither an ordinary ending nor destruction… Hecate wanted Jason to walk the path of being spoiled!
The reason was simple.
When she had first seen the three possible futures revealed on Jason,
Hecate had naturally also seen Jason's three possible outcomes.
Numbness in an ordinary life.
Cold indifference when he became a killer of gods.
And constant exasperation when spoiled by the gods.
Therefore… let this child remain forever exasperated in the gods' affection.
This was the answer chosen silently in her heart by Hecate, who had already "accepted defeat," in order to help Jason.